A new rocky shore marine science curriculum is now available for educators to download free of charge from the Seacoast Science Center’s website.
The Rocky Shore Marine Science Curriculum: An Ecosystem Unit for Elementary Educators was created to provide New Hampshire elementary teachers and their students with a comprehensive, standards-based science unit.
The Rocky Shore Marine Science Curriculum is a user-friendly, professional course of study that incorporates the Next Generation Science Standards, and extensively covers the multitude of characteristics of the rocky shore, particularly the Atlantic rocky shore. It provides educators and students with a variety of educational, cross-curricular lessons that can be completed in sequence or individually.
The curriculum was developed by Thom Smith, the 2016 Christa McAuliffe Sabbatical Recipient, along with collaborative efforts from the Seacoast Science Center, University of New Hampshire Cooperative Extension/NH Sea Grant, New England Aquarium, Hobblebush Design, and the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation.
The Seacoast Science Center collaborated on the sequencing and core concepts of the unit, to ensure alignment between the curriculum and a variety of onsite programs offered at the science center. Giving students the opportunity to get into the tide pools to experience these concepts through hands-on exploration and learning is the ideal way to form lasting connections to the content, the Ocean, and to the NH coastal environment.
Teachers can utilize the curriculum in their classrooms for engaging and meaningful pre- and post-Seacoast Science Center visit enrichment. The science center will work with teachers to suggest appropriate lessons for framing Center programs, supporting and deepening the class visit to the seashore.
There are a limited number of spiral-bound, professionally printed hard copies available to educators who express interest in utilizing the curriculum in their classrooms. For your free hard copy, please contact Thom Smith at engageyourstudents@gmail.com.
To learn more about the Center’s Rocky Shore Exploration program and book your program, please contact Amanda at registrar@sscnh.org.
